The Seal, The Kunai, The Mother
by Da Goose
Summary: What if Minato didn't just seal the Kyuubi into Naruto that night. What if he sealed Kushina too, to help their son. What differences would it make. Strong/Smart Naruto ANBU, Good Not Evil Sasuke. Pairings undecided poll will be on my profile. Rated T for violence and light swearing. No lemons.
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

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**Hello everyone. This is my first fic, and I would appreciate any and all reviews, just no flames. I think this is an original idea of mine, if not well dangflabbet then. Alright read on!**

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_6 years ago Konaha, October 10_

Decisions, once made they can't be changed. There is no going back, which is why the parents of our favorite hero's parents were arguing. This decision happened to one of the most important decisions in the history of the shinobi world.

A fiery red haired woman and a spiky yellow haired man were impaled through the chest on a massive claw. This claw was attached to a deep red fur covered paw with four other massive claws attached, looking somewhat like a paw/hand thing led up to a massive fox with nine tails, all covered in red fur. The beast is know as The Kyuubi or The Nine Tailed Fox (duh).

The man and woman had just jumped in front of this claw, to stop it from impaling a small new born, that somehow had a tuft of yellow hair. The woman had tears in her eyes, not from physical pain but a different type of pain. The woman had realized that she would never see her son grow up. The man saw this, and couldn't bear having his lover this way. He had made a decision,

"Kushina-" but before he was able to finish what he was saying, his lover, now revealed as Kushina, spoke to the baby.

"Naruto...don't be a picky eater, eat alot and grow big and strong!" She said, with tears threatening again.

"Kushina," the man whispered, but was promptly ignored.

The tears were now falling freely. "Take a bath everyday...go to bed early and sleep well."

"KUSHINA!" The man yelled finally getting her attention. Though when she turned her head towards him he wished he hadn't.

"WHAT?! I WAS SAYING MY LAST TO NARUTO, DATTEBANE!" Her righteous female fury causing her to ignore the giant claw in her chest.

The man didn't flinch, though whether it was because he was a great man or because he couldn't with the claw in him is unknown. He smiled and said, "Don't worry honey. You're going to get to see him everyday, through his eyes." He said, smiling all the while.

"What do you mean Minato? How? We're both about to die here!"

Minato, formerly know as the man, smiled sadly before speaking, "No, I'M going to die, you are not. Our baby is going to need someone in his life."

"What do you mean I'm going to live?! I have a massive claw through the chest!" Her obviously volatile temper flaring.

"I'm going to seal you in him. You want to see him grow up right? Well here's your chance." The same sad smile never left his face. He had accepted his fate and now wanted to save his lover, and possibly child.

"Wha-What? How? Wait! I'd be stuck with the fox! That's not gonna happen, dattebane!" But it was obvious even though she said these things that she really did want the chance to see her son grow up.

"Kushina-chan I would never do that to you, I'd seal you in a different place. This seal wouldn't be holding you back though, just holding." Kushina finally gave in, and smiled.

"Minato, I love you. Now seal me and the damn fox." Minato brightened up, and said

"Kushii-chan I love you too. When you're in there tell Naruto I love him." With that he wiped his finger across Kushina's chest, acquiring the needed blood. Then he began the surprisingly short sequence of hand seals, all 83 of them, in less then 5 seconds. After he finished he reached out and tapped Naruto on the head and exclaimed; "HUMAN SEALING TECHNIQUE: BODY AND SOUL ADDITION!"

A flash of light and Kushina was gone. The only remnant of her being there was the small red spot of hair one the front of Naruto's head, and the small seal behind his ear, that looked disturbingly like a smiley face.

Minato turned his head towards the fox, which for some reason hadn't moved, and grumbled, "Now it's your turn you damn fox."

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**Well thats it. Wow thats short. Well I certainly appreciate the writings on this site much more now. Well thanks for reading, please review! **

_**P.S. I will try to update atleast once a week, maybe quicker. No promises though.**_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_Poll:_

_Rinnegan: 7_

_None: 2_

_Sharingan: 1_

_Other: 1_

_Hyoton (Ice release, what Haku has): 1_

_Jinton(Swift release, allows user to move really fast): 0_

_Mokuton(Wood release): 0_

_Poll will close on Monday 27_

**And I'm back with another post! Yeah! Anyone who actually wants to see this story go needs to vote on the bloodline poll. I need it to activate at some point, so I can't continue once I reach a certain point. At the latest this will be the Wave Arc. I could also do with a beta-reader, since I really don't know what I'm doing. Alright enough of that on to the story!**

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_Konahagakure no Sato; 6 Years After Attack; October 10_

In the largest of the hidden villages, Konaha, it was peacetime. In fact it was a day of celebration, for most, celebrating the survival of the Kyuubi attack. It was time of mourning as well, of the dead and specifically the Yodiame Hokage. The hero who died defeating the Kyuubi. Well actually sealing, into our hero, Naruto.

Speaking of Naruto, he was currently running through the village. Now this was a normal occurrence, as he was going to be a ninja one day. He also had a ridiculous amount of energy. But today it was not a fun type of run. Today it was a run from the drunk, angry, and violent villagers. It had been an annual occurrence for the since he was 4.

On the first year he had been wandering through the streets during the festival when some drunken party goer threw a bottle at him. The bottle missed but it incited a group of villagers to start chasing him. He escaped them by hiding in a trash can.

This year there were shinobi in the crowd. The only advantage that he had was that they were all hammered some of the civilians had already passed out while chasing him. He kept running through the village, knocking over trash cans, diving through fences, smashing through crowds all to get away. He may have been six but he knew what would happen if they caught him. They told him while he was running yelling things like, "GET BACK HERE DEMON, I NEED TO STAB YOU!", "COME HERE TO I CAN RIP YOUR EYES OUT!", and from one very loud female "LET ME CASTRATE YOU!". As he was thinking about this, he lost concentration for a moment and the worst possible thing happened:

He fell.

He was done for. He didn't have time to get up the crowd was already on top of him. SMASH! And then he was on the ground. He was hit in the head by a bottle. They started beating on him. Kicking him in the head and chest. The whole time yelling things like, "FINALLY GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE DEMOM!", "THIS IS FOR MY BROTHER FOX!", and strange one "TOBI IS A GOOD BOY!".

Somehow he remained conscious through it all. It was as if his own body wanted him to be punished for something he didn't know about. He looked up again to try and block some of the hits when he saw the kunai flying through the air at him. Time seemed to stop for a momen and then everything was white.

Suddenly another kunai hit the flying one jarring the first back into the original shinobi, striking him dead. A man, more of a boy really, jumped down from the building landing in front of Naruto. He landed easily, bending his knees to break the fall. He stood up slowly, revealing him to be around 5'9. This boy/man was dressed in loose fitting black pants with white ninja tape tied up to his mid shin. The ninja tape lead to black shinobi sandals. He wore a black short sleeve shirt with a high collar, going up to his chin. Overtop he had a light purplish/white ceramic chest plate. On his arms was a pair of wrist guards, made of the same ceramic. On his back was a short katana, going down from the top right shoulder to the left hip. He had black hair that fell to his chin in the front and a ponytail in the back. A sharp chin, small nose, and two line going done from his red eyes made up his face. This was an ANBU.

He spoke, "I recommend that you leave this boy alone or," he turned his head towards the dead man, "you may end up like the man with a kunai in his eye." The civilian crowd shrunk back, while the ninjas just stared. Then a man in a jonin vest stepped forward.

"Come on Itachi, don't protect the demon. We'll give you a couple of shots at it." Thump. Suddenly a kunai appeared in the man's neck. He fell over, dead before he hit the ground. The boy, now known as Itachi, had another kunai in his hand. He didn't even seem to have moved.

"All doff you have broken The Third's law. I'm letting you off only because I don't like killing. Let this be a lesson to you. Now leave." And with that everyone that was still alive ran, so they could stay that way. Itachi brought his hand up to his ear and said, "Send someone to pick up the bodies, I'll take Naruto to the hospital."

"Yes sir." Came the response from the earpiece. With that he turned towards Naruto, whose eyes were open, but weren't focused on anything.

"Eh. He must be meeting the fox. Glad I'm not him." With that he walked over, scooped up Naruto, and hopped to the roof. He ran to the ANBU hospital.

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_Naruto's Mindscape, After the flash_

"Where am I?". Naruto was was standing in a grass field. There were flowers, not a lot, but some. The air smelled like fresh cut grass, and in the distance you could see the beginnings of a forest.

"Why sochi, you're in your mind." He whipped around and... fell.

He pulled his head into "Don't hurt me." The voice laughed, not an evil chuckle but a loving, motherly laugh. He slowly raised his head, his blue eyes shining in wonder. What he saw was a beautiful red haired woman, wearing a light green dress with a white under shirt. Her face was a soft oval, with dark blue eyes.

She smiled at him, the same loving resonance that came from the laugh and said, "Sochi, I would never hurt you. Well unless you do something stupid, but otherwise I wouldn't hurt you." At this point Naruto was just confused, didn't "sochi" mean son.

"What do you mean "son"? My mom is dead." At this she smiled sadly, she knew what he had been told. He had been told that his parents had been killed by the Kyuubi. The people who told him that were telling him what they thought was true. In truth his father had died, but his mother had lived on inside him. They also told him that nobody knew who parents were. That was a lie.

"Well Naruto I'm your mother, so of course you're my son." His face went from confusion to disbelief to acceptance and finally pure happiness. It was a look you see on those who don't have anything and then are given something. One that showed that he would appreciate having a mother more than most, since he hadn't had one before.

He ran at her and jumped, wrapping his arms around her. Tears began to form in his eyes and he said, "Kaa-san." And then the tears started running down his face.

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**Alright second chapter! Wooh, that's a bit longer. About 500 words longer. I feel like the chapters will start getting longer once there are more characters and more action. This is still kinda like a prologue, or the introduction arc. Alright remember to vote on the poll. Also I'm going to make it so that if Naruto does get a bloodline, he won't use it too much. Again PM me if you want to be a beta-reader.**

**Da Goose is flying away!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

_Final Results of Poll:_

_Rinnegan: 12_

_Hyoton: 6_

_Sharingan: 4_

_Mokuton: 4_

_Jinton: 3_

_None: 3_

_Other: 1_

**Alright. This update took a little longer, but hey I doubled the word count. I'm still in need of a beta reader, since I'm pretty sure I've made some mistakes. Also the winner of the poll is *insert drumroll here* the Rinnegan. I got some negatives and positives on that, but I said I would go by this. Alright read and review.**

"Speech"  
'Thought'  
_Kushina speech_  
**Demon/Angry Kushina speech  
****_Demon thought_**

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_Naruto's Mindscape; Where last chapter left off_

He ran at her and jumped, wrapping his arms around her. Tears began to form in his eyes and he said, "Kaa-san." And then the tears started running down his face.

"It's ok Naruto. I'm here." Kushina wrapped her arms around Naruto, pulling him into the embrace. Tears were now flowing her face too. While Naruto's tears were of joy, of finally having a mother, hers were a mixture. Her tears were letting out the pent up frustration, that she had been partially releasing on the fox, and the joy of meeting her son.

The argument could be made that Kushina had had it worse over the years. Since Naruto had thought that he had no mother, he was just in joy at meeting her. She on the other hand, had known full well that she had a son. She had also seen the villagers mistreating her sochi. Oh what she would do when she got out.

Almost all of Konaha shivered for some reason, feeling like they were about to be killed by something worst than a demon.

Naruto stopped crying and hugged her harder and said, "I have a mom now. I have a mom now!" He let go of Kushina, jumped back, and yelled at the top of his lungs; "I HAVE A MOM NOW!" He was jumping for joy, and then, being the clumsy six year old he is, he fell.

He sat up, having already gone through the over-excitement stage, and looked at his mother with his head tilted to the side. His blue eyes big with curiosity. "So kaa-san, how are you in my mind?"

Kushina was a bit surprised at the sudden change in attitude. She smiled at how inquisitive her son was. She wasn't sure how to explain it since her son had no understanding of the ninja arts. She would try though.

"Honey, have you heard of the Kyuubi?" She had long gotten over what had happened with the Kyuubi. That fox still has nightmares from their "makeup sessions".

Naruto put his chin on his hand, with his elbow on his knee and thought. Kushina was barely holding in her laughter at the pose. He looked so serious. Suddenly he jumped up.

"It's that giant fox thing, with a lot of tails right. And.. um.. Oh! It attacked the village, then the Yodiame killer it. But he died too." The last part was said with a pout. The Yodiame was his hero after all.

"Well sochi, you're kinda right." At this Naruto looked crestfallen, with a cloud of depression hanging over him. "You see the Kyuubi is a biju (tailed beast). Bijus can't die, because they're only chakra, and will just come back later."

"Then how did the Yodiame beat it? He did beat it right?!" Naruto was panicking, he had heard of the destruction caused by the Kyuubi, and didn't want it to happen again.

"Of course sochi, and you were the key to Minato's success." Naruto was now confused, didn't she just say that it couldn't be killed, and who was this "Minato". Not wanting to be confused any longer he asked.

"What do you mean? Didn't you just say that it couldn't be killed? And who's this Minato guy? And what do you mean I was the key to his success?!" Naruto was getting excited now, and it was showing. He was bouncing around, it looked like he was going to need to start running to burn off the extra energy, or he would explode.

"Well Naruto, Minato was you're father. And you're right I did say the Kyuubi can't be killed. It can be defeated though, by sealing it into a person. And that's how you're father beat it." Naruto had lost his excitement, he was confused again. All these emotions were giving him a headache.

"Sochi..." This got him to look up, which is exactly what she wanted. This was important, and he needed to pay attention for it. "When's you're birthday sochi?"

"October 10th, six years ago." He said still confused. What did his birthday have to do with this.

"And what day did the Kyuubi attack?" Naruto fell back into his thinking pose. He pushed away his his questions of why he was being asked this. After all it was his mother.

When he came up with the answer he jumped up again, yelling, "October 10th... six years... ago." And now he was depressed. His birthday was on the same day the Kyuubi attacked! It wasn't fair. And why did his mother have to tell him this.

"Sochi remember when I told you that the Kyuubi was sealed into a person? Well it can only be sealed into a specific type of person. It can only be sealed into a newborn baby, or they'll die. And the Kyuubi would be released."

'What does that have to do with anything.' Naruto wondered. 'Weren't they talking just about how he was born on the same day the Kyuubi attacked.' His face went blank, 'Wait, I was a newborn! It's sealed in me! How, it's supposed to be like a mile big!'

Kushina was watching him intently, and knew he had realized it. She was expecting him to be sad, or angry or almost anything but curious. And that was what the look on his face depicted, curiosity. She was starting to become concerned, as he had been sitting there thinking for ten minutes.

"Naruto, are you okay? You've been quiet for a long time." Naruto snapped out of his thoughts, and looked up. Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly he said,

"Sorry, I was just wondering how it could be inside me. Isn't it supposed to huge?" Kushina smiled, one of her radiant smiles. She could only smile like this at spiky haired blondes.

"Have you ever seen a storage scroll sochi?" A shake of the head in the affirmative. "It can fit you're clothes, a kunai, or a house if it's a good one. And it's only a piece of paper. So if a piece of paper can hold that much, how much do you think a living thing, with its own chakra to power it. Add that to the fact that the bijus are only chakra, given form, it's understandable that a person can hold a biju."

"So I have the Kyuubi in me?" She nodded. "That's so cool! Can I meet it?!" She was regul and utterly shocked. Who would want to meet the Kyuubi.

"Not now sochi, there isn't time. You should probably be going back to the outside world soon actually." She said with a sad look.

"Does this mean I won't get to see you again kaa-san?" He asked. If that was the case then he was never leaving, he had his mother.

She chuckled, "No sochi, we'll be able to talk anytime. Just think loudly, and then listen in your head."

Naruto smiled at this, and then realized he had no idea how to leave. "Er.. Kaa-san how do I go?"

She smiled, "Just imagine yourself being pulled up into the sky."

"Thanks kaa-san. Talk to you in a minute." He said with a smile. Then his face contorted in concentration, and he was gone.

Kushina collapsed to the ground, crying. These weren't tears of sadness though, they were happiness. She got to meet her sochi, all because of Minato's idea. "Thank you, thank you Minato."

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_Konaha; On The Way To The Hospital_

"Urg. Where am I?" Naruto said as he woke up.

"Ah Naruto-kun, you're awake." Naruto would have jumped up in suprise, but he was being carried by Itachi, who had recently saved him, but Naruto didn't know that. So...

"Ah! Who are you?! Why are you carrying me?!" Itachi smiled. Naruto reminded him of Sasuke, if only because of their similar ages. He had always kept an eye put for Naruto, he just couldn't understand the people trying to hurt him. He was the one who had to have the Kyuubi, and was keeping the village safe from the Kyuubi. He truly couldn't understand the logic. What if Naruto left, or went insane? He was awoken from his musings when Naruto spoke.

"Hey mister! Are you there?"

"Oh, sorry Naruto-kun. I was just thinking. To answer your questions, I am Uchiha Itachi, ANBU captian. I am carrying you because you are hurt, and needed to be brought to the hospital. You were also unconscious, so you couldn't walk." He finished with a smile. Naruto couldn't help but believe him, the way he spoke made it seem like he couldn't lie.

He's telling the truth Naruto. I saw the whole thing from in here. Kushina finally spoke, slightly annoyed at seemingly being forgotten so quickly. She understood though he had awoken Itachi's arms, being carried.

'Oh, thanks kaa-san. This is so cool! I can always talk to you!' Kushina realized then how much it meant to him, since he had never had anyone who cared for him. Now he had someone who loved him, and she was always with him. It was his turned to be roused from his thoughts or conversation really by Itachi.

"Naruto-kun we are here." Itachi said as he walked through the ANBU hospital doors. "Now let's get you checked in." He walked up to the front desk, which was only there so that the ANBU couldn't just walk in and out without record. "I need to bring Naruto-kun here into get checked on. He received quite the beating earlier." The receptionist just nodded, before Itachi added, "Send word to the Hokage that Naruto is here. He will want to know."

"Of course Itachi-senpia. I will send someone right away." With that Itachi walked down the hall, to one of the medical rooms.

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_Hospital: One Hour Later_

"Well I'm not sure how, but Naruto here is back to normal." The doctor said to Itachi and Naruto. "And by normal I mean severely malnourished. Other than that he has no broken bones, not even a bruise. From what you told me, he should have at least two or three broken ribs, lots of contusions, and a concussion and maybe even a cracked skull."

Itachi nodded, well aware of these things. "Maybe his tenant is paying his rent." The doctor looked a little confused and then remembered that Naruto had the Kyuubi in him.

"Ah, very good conclusion Itachi-san." He said as he nodded. Moments later the Hokage entered the room, flanked by his ANBU.

"Is Naruto ok?" He said, worry clearly etched on his wrinkled face.

"I'm fine Jiji." Naruto said to his surrogate grandfather. Sarutobi had basically adopted Naruro, giving him an apartment. Still, he could have done much more for him, like giving him money for food, or somebody to watch over the six year old.

Naruto, Kushina said from inside the seal, ask to speak to Sarutobi privately. Naruto nodded, knowing his mother wouldn't do anything to hurt him... right?

"Hey Jiji. Can I talk to you alone?" Naruto asked, surprising Sarutobi. He hadn't expected that. He had expected Naruto to come running to him and give him a hug. Then challenge him for the hat.

"Sure Naruto." He nodded to his ANBU. "Itachi would you stay close by, I'm think I have a new assignment for you." Itachi nodded, already having an idea of what the Hokage would want.

While Sarutobi had been speaking, Kushina had told Naruto what to say. She had told him to say, "Jiji this is your last chance to tell me the truth. Who are my parents." She has said if he didn't tell him then he wouldn't be trusted. Naruto honestly was surprised, he had thought that his Jiji had been telling the truth. 'Oh she knows what she's doing... I hope'

Turning away from the door, toward the Hokage he said, "Jiji, this is your last chance to tell the truth. Who are my parents?" The Hokage was taken aback. Naruto didn't even seem to ask him, it was like a statement. Or a rhetorical question, it certainly seemed like Naruro knew. He was torn, what if this was a ploy to learn who his parents were. Naruto certainly was devious enough to do it.

On the other hand he did deserve to know his parents were, everyone did. And what if he did somehow know, would he be trusted again. What was the harm in him knowing, if Naruto promised not to tell anyone? Naruto didn't break promises, that was a fact. He could make him promise not to tell anyone until he said it was ok. Yes that's what he would do.

"Naruto," he paused. 'Kami this is hard' he thought before speaking, "I've lied to you. I do know who your parents were. I need you to promise me something before I tell you though. I need you to promise not to tell anyone, unless I say it's ok. If you tell people, you might be targeted for assassination, your parents made strong enemies. Ok?" He really wanted Naruto to be ok, just didn't want him to be killed.

"Alright Jiji, I won't tell anybody unless you say I can, that's a promise!" Naruto said he really wanted to be able to trust his Jiji, so he wouldn't tell anyone.

Sarutobi took a breath and said, "Alright your parents were Kushina Uzumaki, and Minato Namikaze."

He expected Naruto to flip out, Minato was his idol. It was ironic he idolized his father even though he didn't know him. But that wasn't the reaction he got, Naruto just looked at him, as if to say "I knew that old man, tell me something interesting."

"Naruto do you know who Minato was?" A shake of the head in the negative, "He was the Yodiame Hokage Naruto."

Naruto looked at him in shock, and then promptly fainted. The old Hokage smiled, and hoped that Naruto wouldn't tell anyone.

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**End of the chapter. Yeah. Alright PM me if you're interested in beta-ing. Drop a couple reviews, and if you like the story share it. I could always use more readers and reviewers.**

**Da Goose is lifting off.**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Wooh! Finally broke 5000 words! Sorry for the late update, I wasn't able to get to a computer for 4 days and then I had a ton of shit to do, but I got another story out. Took long enough though. Alright, I could still use a beta reader as this next chapter will probably prove. I have also decided on three out of the four spots for the Naruto harem thing. Tayuya, Fuu, and Hinata. The last spot will be up to you with a poll that I will post soon!mAlso I'm going to start giving shoutouts to new stories that I've read that I like or think have a good plot. Not that it will make too much of a difference, with my small fanbase, but it's what I'd want people to do for me.**

**Now read and review!**

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"Speech"  
'Thought'  
_Kushina speech_  
**Demon/Angry Kushina speech**  
**_Demon thought_**

_Naruto's Mindscape; Where last chapter left off_

Naruto had been so excited when he fainted, that he fainted inside his faint. Faintception.

"Sochi." Kushina said with a smile, looking down at Naruto.

"Sochi." Kushina said, the smile a little strained.

"Sochi!" Kushina spoke a little louder this time, the smile now gone.

"SOCHI!" Kushina finally yelled, now angry. She was stunned when Naruto didn't wake up. Almost everyone responded to her yells, even in their sleep.

She was even more stunned when Naruto turned towards her, still passed out and said, "Five... more minutes... kaa-san." She smiled at that. Then she remembered that Naruto was having an important conversation. So she gathered her anger at all the stupid things Naruto had done in her absence and...

"SOCHI WAKE UP! DATTEBAYNE!" She yelled, her hair raising into tendrils floating ominously in the air, daring anything to challenge her. Her eyes were white, like a Byakugan, but much much scarier.

"AAAHHHH!" He yelled, finally waking up. He took one look at her quickly retreated from his own mind.

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_ANBU Hospital: About 1.5 Minutes After Faint_

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, blinking at what he saw. He was in a white room, with a table, that he was laying on, and a chair. The Hokage-Jiji was sitting in that chair for some reason, looking at him with a smile.

'Oh yeah! We were talking about my parents. He said my dad was... The Fourth. Must not faint.' Naruto sat there for a some time with a look of deep concentration on his face, using sheer force of will not to faint.

The Hokage looked up, finally noticing Naruto was awake. He was about to say something when he noticed the strange look on Naruto's face. It was if... he was constipated or trying to read something that actually wasn't there. He shook his head, ridding himself of the thoughts.

"Naruto-kun what's wrong?" He asked hoping to find out why his face was like that.

Naruto's head snapped up, a look of suprise newly plastered on his face. "Huh?"

Crash. The Hokage facefell, out of his chair. At that moment both of them were wishing they had brought a camera. There would have been some great blackmail material.

The Hokage recovered quickly, getting back into his chair. Acting as if it never happened, he said, "What's was wrong Naruto? Why was your face like that?"

"Oh. I was just trying not to pass out again. It's a lot harder than you'd think." Naruto said. He seemed relieved though, as if the distraction was all he had needed to not faint.

"Well that's good, I don't want you fainting in such an important conversation." Hiruzen said with a chuckle. "Now, Naruto do you understand why you can't tell anyone about your father?"

Naruto put his concentration face back on, and then nodded saying, "Is it Iwa?" The Hokage nodded. "He killed a lot of them right?"

Hiruzen gave another chuckle, but this one held no mirth. "He did, but he did it so quickly. The people of Iwa thought he was cruel about it, the way he would show up, slaughter battalions, and then disappear. He really hated it though. Every time he returned he was depressed. It took your mother to cheer him up." Hiruzen realized he had been rambling and stopped.

"Ok I get it. Could you tell me about my mother?" Naruto asked, eager to know more about the mother he had just recently met.

"Ah, Kushina Uzumaki. What a woman." He chuckled again, "She was the only person your father was afraid of. She was quite the ninja as well." Naruto really perked up at this. His mom could train him to be a ninja!

He gave Hiruzen the Puppy Eye no Jutsu, not even having to do the hand seals. "What did she do?! Did she use super strong justus?!"

Hiruzen chuckled again, he found himself doing that a lot around Naruto. "Well she didn't use 'super strong jutsus' but she also the best ANBU ever. She used Kenjutsu. She was known as the 'Red Death of Konaha', because the last thing her opponents saw was her red hair."

Naruto was stunned, his parents were really strong. 'But that means I'm gonna be even stronger!' He thought. Then he realized he didn't know what kenjutsu is. "Hey Jiji what's kenjutsu?"

Hiruzen smiled, remembering Naruto was only six. 'Oh shit! It's his birthday, and I didn't get him anything!' He thought slightly panicked. How would Naruto feel if the only person he called family didn't get him anything 'Maybe I could get him a sword since that's what his mother did? Yeah I'll do that'. He thought calming down. "Well Naruto kenjutsu is the use of a sword by a ninja. Now enough questions we're going to get your birthday present." Hiruzen said as he stood up from his chair slowly, allowing his old and tired muscles to stretch.

"Awesome Jiji! Let's go!" Naruto yelled, jumping up in a manner that Hirizen envied. He ran out the door, while the aged Hokage just laughed, wishing he was young again. He slowly walked out the door, knowing Naruto would suddenly run back in three... two... one...

"Hurry up Jiji!" Naruto said suddenly appearing. His speed had been boosted by his excitement.

"Give an old man some time Naruto-kun," Hiruzen said, a smile playing on his lips. He turned to Itachi, who had been dutifully waiting for him and said, "Itachi-kun, why don't you walk with us."

"Of course Hokage-sama," Itachi said with a nod, wondering what the Hokage wished of him.

"So Jiji what am I getting this year?!" Naruto asked excitedly as they began to walk towards the ninja stores. "Is it a set of kunai?! Or shuriken?!" He questioned, bouncing up and down from excitement.

"Well Naruto this year it's a little different." Naruto stopped jumping, "This year you're going to pick your present,"

"YATTA! That's awesome Jiji!" Naruto jumped into the air and fell. He quickly got back up and resumed his jumping. A few of the villagers looked over but quickly looked away when they saw it was Naruto, though they refrained from saying anything because the Hokage was there.

"But," Naruto's face fell expecting him to say it had to be small, "you're going to pick out a sword, not just anything. That way you can be like you're mother." Naruto face lit up with a smile that only a pure, innocent child could have. It was the same look he gave when he leaned of his mother being alive.

"That's even awesomer Jiji! I'll be even better than my mom! Dattebane!" The Hokage chuckled, if he was better than his mom he would definitely become the Hokage. He just hoped he wouldn't pick up her temper.

Inside Naruto's mind, Kushina was chuckling. Naruto would definitely be better than her if she had anything to do with it.

Itachi smiled, it was nice to see this kind of open display of emotion. Everyone in the Uchiha clan was so stoic and quiet. He sincerely hoped Sasuke would become friends with Naruto one day. It was certainly possible, the Uchiha had no issue with Naruto, they knew the seal would hold. His mother would almost make sure of it too, if his parents were who he thought they were.

Naruto calmed down a little, and noticed that Itachi was walking with them. "Jiji why is Itachi still with us?"

Itachi answered for the Hokage, "Hokage-sama asked me to accompany both you and him."

Naruto nodded accepting it as an answer. Then he realized he didn't learn to much, "Why did Jiji ask you to come with us?"

Itachi smiled slightly, "Well, we'll just have to ask him won't we." Naruto nodded, feeling as if he was making progress.

Turning to his surrogate grandfather he asked, "Jiji why is Itachi accoman... accompany... ing... Accompanying!" He exclaimed as he got the word. "Jiji why is Itachi accompanying is?"

Hiruzen gave a small smile, and then became very serious. "Itachi-kun has a new mission." Itachi turned towards the Hokage, an eyebrow raised. This looked like barely a reaction but it was the equivalent of him tripping in suprise.

"In light of recent events, I have deemed it necessary for Naruto to have a bodyguard. Since you already know Itachi, he will be your main bodyguard. And Itachi I would like you to introduce Naruto to Sasuke." Hirizen looked over at Itachi who was thinking it over in his head.

'If I take this mission I doubt I'll be able to do many more for a while, so that means less violence. And Sasuke could use a friend his age.' Itachi nodded. "I accept the mission Hokage-sama."

"Awesome! I get a bodyguard! That's so cool!" Naruto exclaimed. The two ninjas gave a small chuckle.

"Well, it looks like we're here so we'll talk about this later." Itachi looked up in surprise.

'That was an exceptionally short walk. Normally it takes twice as long.' Itachi looked towards the Hokage, who seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"It must be that the author either can't right a decent length conversation, or is too lazy to. Hmm." Hirizen said, nodding his head in his infinite wisdom. Then he looked up in surprise. "Wait what did I just say? That doesn't make any sense."

Itachi was looking at him, suspicion dancing across his face. 'That doesn't make any sense. Yet it explains how this whole situation happened. And the shorter walk. I guess I'll have to think on that.' He looked up and said, "I don't know, I think we should just forget about-"

"I found a sword Jiji!" Naruto interrupted, running up to the two. He was carrying, more like dragging, a sword that was easily as big as Hiruzen.

"Naruto-kun that sword is much to big for you. Why don't we put that back and find a sword that will work for you." He said with a smile.

"Get back here with my sword demon!" Exclaimed the angry shopkeeper, who suddenly realized who Naruto was in company with. Hiruzen sighed as he let out a small amount of killing intent, enough to terrify the shopkeeper but surprisingly not Naruto. Naruto had just seen his mother angry, it would take a lot more than that to scare him.

"Now mr...?" The Hokage said, no longer acting as Naruto's grandfather. The man quivered, terrified of what was going to happen to him. He finally gained the courage to speak,

"Yosh-Yoshimoto, Hokage-sama." Hirizen nodded.

"Today is a day of festival, so this is just a warning. Next time there won't be a warning. I expect to find that Naruto is a welcome customer here in the future as well." The man nodded, not wishing to die anytime soon.

"Of course Hokage-sama. I can't speak for owner of the store, but whenever I'm working Naruto-sama here will be welcome." He rushed out, trying to avoid any trouble.

"That is acceptable." Hiruzen said. His face softened as he turned towards Naruto, "Now come on Naruto, we have a sword to find." Naruto handed the big sword to Itachi, who in turn gave it to the shopkeeper, who took it back in to the store. When Itachi looked back towards Naruto, he was gone.

'Quite a bit of speed when he's excited. He must get it from his father.' Itachi thought as he walked into the store, followed by the Hokage. He spotted Naruto, who was holding a sheathed katana in reverence.

The sheath itself was black, with small red swirls going from the end to end. They were like the swirl on Naruto's chest. The handle itself was of the same design, black with red swirls. Naruto was still staring at it when the shopkeeper came back.

"Kid don't bother, nobodies been able open it since we got it here." He smirked a little knowing that this would upset the demon. Naruto looked up at him with wide eyes, then his features changed to one of determination.

"I'll open it! Dattebane!" Naruto said as he pulled on the handle and top. The storekeeper blinked in surprise as the sheath slowly came off the sword. It revealed a silver katana, with similar swirls etched into the metal. It also had strange markings, looking somewhat like writing but much more powerful. The metal seemed to shine, and then it did shine. A bright white light came from the markings on the sword, while more markings appeared on the sheath. Soon it became so bright that it was impossible to look at, and then it stopped.

The sword in Naruto's hand was much smaller now, and it seemed to fit him perfectly. A strap had also appeared now attached to the sheath. The strap was emblazoned with an going straight up the middle. The sheath itself had similar stripes, but they traveled up the side of sheath, leaving the swirls in place.

The most amazing part of the transformation was the sword. The handle was now orange, with a black grip adding a highlight to the sword. The blade itself looked very similar to before, but shorter. The silver color hadn't noticeably changed, but when you looked at it, you just felt orange. Two new symbols were etched into the blade, one on each side at the base. The symbol on the left was the kanji for speed, while the one on the left was the kanji for power.

The group was staring at the newly transformed sword, when Itachi broke the silence with, "Woah." Everyone nodded.

"I couldn't have said it better myself Itachi-kun." The old Sarutobi said. He turned to the shopkeeper, "How much for the sword?"

"It's 100,000 ryo (about $10,000). But it's been on the shelf for a years now, and I want to apologize, so I'll sell it to you for 50,000 ryo." The Hokage nodded.

"A fair price," he said as he pulled out a checkbook. He wrote on it and handed it over to the shopkeeper. He looked it over for a moment, then brought the sword over to the counter. He put onto a small wooden disc. A small seal appeared on the sheath, and then disappeared.

The Hokage raised an eyebrow. The shopkeeper smiled and said, "I removed the seal that wouldn't allow it to leave the store." He gave sword to Naruto, with an obviously fake smile. "It's yours now."

Naruto took the sword with a "Thanks mister!" He turned to the old Hokage and gave him a hug. He jumped back after a moment and said, "Thanks Jiji! This is the best gift ever!"

"You're welcome Naruto." He said with a kindly smile. His face turned serious after a moment, "Naruto you can't use this just yet, you aren't trained with it." Naruto nodded sadly, some of the steam taken out of him.

Itachi saw this and spoke before he thought, "Hpkage-sama, if I am to be his bodyguard should I train him as well? That way he can protect himself." Naruto immediately looked up at this. He turned to his Jiji, and channeled all of his chakra into a Puppy Eye no Jutsu. Even the blind would have succumb to it.

The old man gave an old man sigh. "Alright Itachi, starting tomorrow you will be Naruto's bodyguard and trainer."

Itachi nodded. 'This could be fun, training a young one. Oh shit I already said I'd start training Sasuke. Oh well, Sasuke can share... I hope.' He turned to the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, I have realized that I told Sasuke that I would train him. Am I able to train both?"

The Hokage nodded. "As long as you think you can." He leaned in closer and whispered so Naruto couldn't hear him, "If you can't train Naruto that is perfectly fine, I'll find someone to."

Itachi nodded, his face gaining a contemplating look. "I will se how it goes for a week, and if I can't handle it then I'll stop."

"Thanks Itachi-san!" Naruto exclaimed flying-tackle-hugging him. Itachi smiled, Naruto really did act like a more emotional Sasuke. 'They'll be great friends, or maybe friendly rivals. Eh, same thing.'

"No problem, Naruto-kun." Itachi said while he messed with Naruto's hair.

"Hey! My hair was perfect!" Naruto exclaimed as he messed up his hair more, until it suddenly popped back into place. Itachi face faulted, while the Hokage just shook his head.

"Moving on. Itachi will be at your house at 8 AM tomorrow. He will decide your training schedule. Other than that he will follow you around, either at a distance or with you. If he tells you to do something, you do it. Understand?" Hiruzen asked, his voice stern.

"Hia, Hokage-Jiji!" Naruto said as he tried to perform a salute, and failed miserably.

"From now on there will be at least one ANBU posted around Naruto-kun. Itachi please bring Hom to his home by 9 PM. There will be an ANBU posted in the area, so you won't have to worry." Itachi nodded, he had expected as much.

"Now that that's over, Itachi you may leave or stay. It's your choice." Itachi looked thoughtful for a moment then shook his head.

"I apologize that I can't stay, but I need to inform the rest of ANBU of this. I'm sure my parents will wish to know as well. And I promises Sasuke he could watch me train today." The Hokage smiled, he had expected that answer.

With that, Itachi vacated then the area with a shunshin, presumably to do what he had said he needed to do.

The Hokage turned to Naruto, no longer so serious. "Naruto-kun, what do you say we go to Ichiruka to get some ramen. Then I have to bring you home, because it's getting late." He said, gesturing to the setting sun behind him.

"Ramen?! Yay!" Naruto said as he took of in the direction of Ichiruka leaving the old man behind.

* * *

_At Ichiruka_

"Hey old man! *pant pant* The other old man *pant* is gonna *pant* buy me a birthday dinner!" Naruto attempted to yell as he fell through the curtain into the shop. He immediately hopped back up, onto one of the chairs.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." Tuechi said with a smile. He turned towards the kitchen, "Ayame! Naruto's here!" There was a loud crash in the back, and suddenly an eight year girl dressed in a white robe, with a small white cap, came flying around the side of the bar. "Naruto-kun!" Ayame squealed as she barreled into Naruto, knocking him out of his seat onto the ground... With her straddling him, not that either of them understood the possibilities from this.

Ayame quickly hopped up and allowed Naruto up as well, both with a slight blush on their face, though neither understood why. Ayame stopped her fidgeting when she remembered why she had tackled him in the first place. "Happy birthday Naruto-kun!" She said as she hugged him.

"Thanks Ayame-chan!" He said returning the hug.

They separated after a moment and Ayame said, "I made some ramen just for you Naruto. Wanna try it?" She asked excited at the chance to test her cooking out on someone that wasn't her dad.

"Ramen!" He replied excitedly, "I'll try it Ayame-chan!" Ayame squealed in excitement, she hoped it would be good. It was his birthday after all.

"Tou-san can you get Naruto my special ramen?" She asked her father sweetly. He smiled to her and walked into the kitchen to get the bowl. "Woah, Naruto-kun is that a sword?" She said as she finally noticed his new sword.

"Yeah! Isn't it awesome!" He replied excitedly, "Jiji got it for me. He's the best!" Naruto exclaimed, still excited about getting a sword.

"Why thank you Naruto-kun." Came a voice from behind him.

"Jiji! What took you so long to get here?!" He yelled, angry because he was surprised.

"I'm an old man Naruto-kun, I take a while to move." Hiruzen replied with a chuckle.

"Naruto here is your ramen." Tuechi said as he left the kitchen, carrying a bowl of steaming ramen. He placed it on the in front of Naruto's stool, and turned to Hiruzen, "Ah Hiruzen-san, how are you?"

The casual way he referred to the Hokage would have shocked most, but it was customary for the two. Tuechi knew he wasn't the equal of the Hokage, but he was equal in being Naruto's surrogate grandfather. Tuechi would never have done this on his own, in fact it was Hiruzen who had come up with the idea. It had taken some time getting used to calling the most powerful man in the village an equal, but he was used to it now.

"I am doing well Tuechi-san, thank you for asking. How are yourself and Ayame-chan doing? I hope well." Hiruzen responded just as casually. The two had something that could be called a partnership, but the nature of the partnership had turned it much more of a friendship.

"We are doing great, especially with little Naruto-kun here paying for half the bills with the amount of ramen he eats." Tuechi said with a smile.

"This is really good Ayame-chan!" Naruto said as he slurped up ramen into his mouth, already finished half the bowl. "What's it called?"

"I call it 'Naruto Ramen' cause it was for you." Ayame said with a bright smile. "It also has Naruto fish cakes too, so that works." Naruto nodded happily, some of his favorite food was being named after him. Life couldn't get any better for him.

Tuechi cleared his throat, "Naruto I know it's not as cool the sword Hiruzen-san gave you, but Ayame-chan and I wanted to do something for your birthday."  
He chuckled nervously, not sure if this was a good idea. "Naruto we want to give you your first bowl of every meal for free, once a day." He knew that it wasn't much, but anything more and he would go bankrupt.

"Really that's awesome! Free ramen!" He yelled, knocking his empty bowl back. "This is the best birthday ever!"

* * *

_Naruto's House: 9:30 PM_

As a young blonde boy and a man with a pointy hat walked towards the door, the young one was thanking the old one for the best birthday ever.

"Thanks Jiji! This is the best birthday ever!" He not so surprisingly exclaimed (kami I need a new word for that). "I learned about my mother, got a cool body/sensei, you bought me a magic sword, and FREE RAMEN!"

Hiruzen chuckled, only Naruto could think of a day where he had been beaten nearly to death could be the best birthday ever. "Well Naruto-kun I'm glad you think that, I had fun too. But it's getting late, and you need your sleep if your going to start your training tomorrow right?" Hiruzen said, attempting to goad Naruto into going to sleep. Hiruzen had a full day of paper work to do in a few hours.

"Oh! I'm gonna go sleep now then!" Naruto said as he ran into his apartment, getting ready to go to sleep.

"Don't forget to set your alarm so you wake up before eight, don't keep Itachi-kun waiting." Hiruzen said sternly, not wanting Naruto to have a bad first day with Itachi.

"Okay got it Jiji. Thanks for the sword! Goodnight!" He said happily, messing with the alarm clock before plopping onto his bed.

"Goodnight Naruto-kun." He said as he left, making sure there was an ANBU present before leaving the area.

* * *

_Naruto's Mindscape/Kushina's Seal_

Naruto opened slowly woke up, expecting to hear alarm clock blaring. It wasn't. He rolled over, on the grass. 'Wait grass? This isn't my room.' He looked around and realized he was in his mom's seal.

"Ah you're awake sochi." Kushina said, her smile filling him with warmth. She sat down cross legged, across from him. "So how was your birthday?" She asked, still smiling.

"It was awesome Kaa-san! I got a sword! Just like you! And a bodyguard! And FREE RAMEN!" Naruto explained, while she nodded completely understanding. She smiled at him,

"Well sochi, I haven't given you your present yet." She said, shocking Naruto. "I didn't really have anything to give you, until you got your sword." She admitted.

"You don't have give me anything kaa-san. I got to meet you today." Was his honest reply.

Kushina's smile widened, 'Sochi really is something else.' She shook her head, "Well I'm going to give you a present anyway. I'm going to teach you about using that sword of yours." Her eyes twinkled, in a way that would make a certain snake lady jealous.

Naruto just stared at her, slightly intimidated by the look in her eye. He wasn't sure whether to be grateful or terrified.

* * *

_Naruto's Apartment: 7:00 AM_

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE-SMASH!_

Naruto slowly awoke to the sound of his fist destroying an alarm clock. "Urg. I knew I should have moved it last night." He said groggily.

He slowly pulled himself out of his bed, and sighed. "I guess I can't stay in bed now. Better get ready for Itachi-san." Slowly he got up and headed towards the bathroom. After spending twenty minutes showering and getting ready for his day, Naruto arrived in his kitchen. He walked over to his cabinet and looked in.

"It looks like I only have miso ramen left." Naruto said, taking stock of his food supply. "That's not too bad though, at least I got that." He said, remembering times when he didn't even have that much food.

He grabbed one of the packages and filled it with water, before heating it up. While he was waiting he decided to clean up the place, since he didn't want Itachi to think he was dirty or something.

After spending about ten minutes cleaning he heard the microwave beep, and went to get his ramen. He enjoyed his ramen for about ten minutes and checked the clock, 'ten minutes til Itachi arrives. I guess I'll do that chakra thing kaa-san told me about.' He thought.

He moved to his couch where he sat cross legged, attempting a basic meditation pose. 'Cmon just think spiritual and physical. I just need to dig deeper.' And then suddenly he felt it, an overwhelming warmth, that sprang from within him. It felt like he had just jumped into a lake, but it was a lake at the perfect, comfortable temperature.

He felt energized, in a way he had never felt before. It was like he had just drank an expresso, without the crazy part. He knew about that, since he stole his Jiji's once. It took half of the ANBU to catch him that day.

*Knock Knock*

The knock caught Naruto off guard, causing him to fall off his couch. He lost deep connection to his chakra, but he could still feel it there, just waiting to be called upon.

Quickly getting up, he walked to the door and opened it, seeing Itachi standing behind it. "Naruto-kun, are you ready for your first day of training?"

Surprised by his upfront, Naruto just nodded. "Good, you're going to need every bit of preparation you can get. Now follow me." Itachi said, turning around and walking out of the apartment complex. Naruto hurried off to catch up to him, not wanting to be left behind.

* * *

_Uchiha District 8:28_

"Ah. We arrived two minutes early. That means Sasuke-kun should be here in about three... two... one." Itachi said aloud.

"Itachi-niisan!" Came the voice as a young boy, the age of Naruto came barreling out of the trees and into Itachi. Itachi returned the hug, before separating from Sasuke.

When seperated, Sasuke was a good foot shorter than Itachi, and his face didn't have the same lines either. His hair, while the same black, was also much wilder, with spikes in the front and calming down in the back, looking strikingly similar to a duck's behind.

He wore white shorts that went to his knees, with a blue high collared shirt that had the Uchiha symbol on the back.

"Sasuke-kun this is the person I was telling you about. The one that you are going to train with." Sasuke nodded, while appraising Naruto. Naruto was doing the same, at the same time. When they both realized that they were doing this they turned away from each other, each giving a "humph".

'Rivals it is then.' Itachi thought, fighting back his smile. Turning to Naruto he said, "Naruto-kun this is Sasuke-kun." Naruto nodded, "Now both of you shake hands, and be friendly or I'm not training either of you." Both boys turned to him with terrified looks,

"But Itachi!" They both said at the same time, causing another glaring fest. Itachi was secretly chuckling. He really was going to enjoy this.

"No buts. Shake hands and get it over with." Itachi said firmly.

The two looked at each other before extended their hands and doing a quick hand shake. They both rubbed their hands off their shorts as quickly as possible, Sasuke muttering "dobe" while Naruto said "teme".

"What did you call me?!" They yelled in unison.

'This is going to be so much fun!' Itachi thought.

* * *

**Alright that's the end of the chapter if you hadn't already guessed. So please review and vote on the poll!**

**Da Goose is taking off.**


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